Disposable bathmat material

ABSTRACT

A disposable laminated bathmat having a central layer of absorbent cellulosic wadding, with a layer of plastic film laminated to one side of the wadding as a water barrier, a layer of nonwoven fabric bonded to the other side of the central layer to provide strength and abrasion resistance, and a layer to provide strength and abrasion resistance, and a layer of cellulosic tissue bonded to the other side of the nonwoven fabric.

r n L- Pfllenske 2,660,757 12/1953 Smith et Kimberly-Clark p" h, Wis.2,830,297 4/1958 Sabee 54956 3,484,330 12/1969 Sokolowski et al. 25:3 ii Primary Examiner-Robert F. Burnett Patented s 1971 AssistantExaminer-Linda C. Koeckert Attorney-Wolfe, Hubbard, Leydig, Voit & Osann13 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

161/129, 151/143 ABSTRACT: A disposable laminated bathmat having a cen-[51] B321) 5/12 1 layer f absorbent cellulosic wadding, with a layer of161/5740 plastic film laminated to one side of the wadding as a water128-129, 152, 156, 157, 148; 4/185; 1 6/2 barrier, a layer of nonwovenfabric bonded to the other side of the central layer to provide strengthand abrasion resistance, References Cited and a layer to providestrength and abrasion resistance, and a UNITED STATES PATENTS layer ofcellulosic tissue bonded to the other side of the non- 8/1941 Nicholson4/185 woven fabric.

United States Patent [72] Inventor [54] DISPOSABLE BATl-lMAT MATERIAL[50] lFieldoiSearch...........................................

DISPOSABLE BATIIMAT MATERIAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention relates. generallytto bathmats and, more particularly, to animproved disposable laminated bathmat.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improveddisposable bathmat having superior strength, abrasion resistance, bulk,and absorbency. A related objectof the invention is to provide such animproved disposable bathmat which has a desirable feel combined with arelativelyhigh absorbency rate and capacity.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an improveddisposable bathmat which is nonabsorbent on the underside thereof.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improveddisposable bathmat of the type described above which can be efficientlymanufactured at high production rates and at at FIG. 2 is a schematicside elevation of the bathmat shown in 1 FIG. 1 on an enlarged scale;and

FIG. 3 is. a schematic representation of a process for producing thebathmat shown in FIGS. I and 2 in accordance with the invention.

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications, andalternative forms, certain specific embodiments thereof" have been shownby way of example in the drawings which will. be described in detailherein. It should be understood, however, that it is not intendedtolimit the invention to the. particular forms disclosed but, on the,contrary, the intention isto.

cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention.

Referring now more. particularly to the accompanying. drawings, theinvention is embodied in a bathmat represented. in FIGS. 1 and 2, andincluding a central layer of absorbent material formed of a multiplicityof plies 11 ofcreped cellulosic wadding, a layer 12 of scrim-tissuelaminate on one face of the.central layer 10, and a plastic film 13 onthe opposite face of the central layer 10. The tissue portion of thescrim-tissue laminate 12 in the illustrative embodiment comprises twoplies 22 of cellulosic tissue bonded to the inner side of the. scrim l4,and two plies 230i the same tissue bondedtothe outer surface of thescrim 14. The two plies of tissueon each side of the scrim arepreferably bonded to at least one of the two sets of threads in thescrim 14; for example, this may be accomplished by applying adhesive tothe warp threads of the scrim 14 during the fabrication of thescrim-tissue laminate 12.

As can be seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the "scrim" portion of the scrim-tissuelaminate 12 is a nonwoven fabric 14 comprising a set of spaced warpthreads'20 which extend in the longitudinal or machine direction, andaset of fill threads 21 which extend across the warp threads in thetransverse direction. Since fabric is nonwoven, the fill threads 21 areall on the same side of the warp threads 20, with the twosets of threadsdisposed in face-to-face relation to each other and adhesively bondeddesired, as long as one set of threads is disposed entirely on one sideof the other set. It will be understood that the term threads" isintended to include both monofilament and multifilament structures,although multilfilament structures are generally preferred in nonwovenfabrics. One particularly preferred scrim material for use in thepresentinvention has a thread count of 3 2.5 (number of warp threads per inchby number of fill threads per inch), and the threads are made of 70denier high tenacity nylon.

The cellulosic-tissue portion of the scrim-tissue laminate 12 suitablycomprises cellulosic sheets having a drier basis weight of from about7.4 to about 8.0 lbs. per 2,880 sq. ft., a finished basis weight offromabout 9 to about I 1 lbs. per 2880 sq. ft., a stretch per ply of fromabout 18 percent to about 25 percent, a dry cross direction strength ofat least about 300 grams, and a wet cross direction strength of atleastabout grams. One typical cellulosic tissue that isparticularlysuitable for use as the tissue plies 22 and 23 has a drierbasis weight of 7.6 lbs. per 2880 sq. ft., a finished basis weight fortwo plies of 9.5 lbs. per sq. ft., a dry cross direction strength of 700to 750 grams, a wet cross direction strength of to grams, and a stretchof 18 percent to 25 percent.

In order to provide a bathmat with superior absorbency characteristics,the multiply wadding layer 111 in the illustrative embodimentcomprisesfour plies 11 of creped cellulosic wadding. Thewadding 111 ispreferably embossable, and for this reason should have, a crepe ratioofat least 2:l.. The preferred wadding also has a dry basis weight,stretch, machine direction strength, and built within the same rangesmentioned previously for the cellulosic tissue plies.22 and 23 in thescrim-tissue laminate 1 1. One typical wadding that isparticularlysuitable for use in the present invention has a drier basisweight of 4.8 lbs/2880 sq. ft., a crepe ratio of 220, a 120 percentstretch, a machine direction strength of 500-700 grams, and a bulk of27-35, mils/l0 plies. For purposes of clarity, the term "tissue is usedherein to identify the cellulosic sheets that are included in thepreformedscrim issue laminate, l2, and the term wadding" is used hereinto identify the multiple plies. 11 of cellulosic material disposedbetween the laminate 12 and the film 13. However, as will be understood.by those familiar with this art, the terms tissue" and wadding" areoften used interchangeably, and thus the tissue sheets 22 and;23 may bethe same material as the wedding plies 11 in certain cases.

The plastic film 13 must be water impervious, and is preferably a coldembossable film so that the multiple plies 11 of cellulosic wadding andthe plastic him 13 may be interbonded in a single cold embossingoperation, as will be describedin more detail below. in the particularexample illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the four-wadding plies 11 and thefilm 13 are interbonded by a whipcordT embossing pattern. which forms aseries of evenly spacedlongitudinal grooves in the embossed material. Ofcourse, various other embossing patterns may be utilized,,if. desired,to achieve substantially the same result.

To bond the scrim-tissue laminate 12 to the multiply wadding, 10, adiscontinuous adhesive pattem 241 is applied to the inner-surface ofthetissue layers 22 before the scrim-tissue laminate is laminated to theembossed laminate ofwadding 10 and film 13. In the particular embodimentillustrated in FIG. I, the adhesive pattern 2 1 is a dot pattern printedon the inner surface of the tissue layers 22 by means of an intagliocellroll. As will be apparent to those skilled in this art, such adiscontinuous adhesive pattern firmly bonds the tissue 12 to the wadding10 without adversely affecting the absorbency and flexibility thereof,

It has been found that the particular combination of materialsembodiedsin the composite laminate of FIGS. 1 and 2 is superbly suitedfor use as a disposable bathmat. Thus, the central layer 10. of,cellulosic wadding, plus the two-tissuelayers 22 bonded to theinnersurfaceof the scrim, provide a relatively high absorbent capacity, andthe absorbent material. is readily accessible via the relatively largeopenings in the scrim l4 and the two tissue layers 23 bonded to theouter surface thereof so that the absorbency rate is also relativelyhigh. Moreover, the scrim layer close to the top surface of the matprovides the composite laminate with the requisite tensile strength andabrasion resistance for a bathmat, and yet it is sufficiently economicalfor a disposable material. From a costperformance standpoint, a scrimmade of 70 denier high tenacity nylon with a thread count of 3X2.5 isespecially preferred. Finally, the two layers of cellulosic tissue onthe outer surface of the scrim provide the composite bathmat with aprintable surface and relatively soft feel and appearance, and enhancethe absorbency of the mat by providing a wicking action on any wetsurface brought into contact with the top surface of the mat. It hasalso been found that the relatively small pore structure of the centrallayer of cellulosic wadding retains absorbed water or other liquidsunder compression.

In FIG. 3, there is illustrated a preferred method of forming theparticular bathmat shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Thus, four continuous webs ofcellulosic wadding are unwound from rolls 30, 31, 32, and 33 andlaminated to the underside ofa continuous web of cold embossable plasticfilm 13 unwound from a roll 34. To interbond the wadding from the rolls30-33 and the film from the roll 34, the film 13 and the four webs ofwadding are passed over a guide roll 35 and into the nip of an embossingroll 36 and a cooperating calender roll 37, with the embossing rollbearing against the film side of the laminate. In the particular produceillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cellulosic wadding 10 and plastic film13 are embossed with a whipcord pattern, but as mentioned previously, anumber of different embossingpatterns may be utilized in carrying outthe present invention. When using the exemplary materials describedabove and 0.5-mil polyethylene cold embossable" film (available fromExtrudo Film Inc.) a suitable embossing pressure is 200 to 550 p.s.i.g.

As the embossed wadding film laminate is withdrawn from the nip of therolls 36, 37 it is laminated to a preformed scrimtissue laminate 12unwound from a roll 38. As the scrim-tissue laminate is unwound from theroll 38, it is passed through an adhesive application station 40comprising a pair of guide rolls 41 and 42 and an adhesive applicatorroll 43. The adhesive is normally applied in a discontinuous pattern,such as that indicated by the adhesive areas 24 in FIG. 1, so that thesubsequent bonding of the scrim-tissue laminate to the waddingfilmlaminate is achieved with a minimum of adhesive and without reducing theflexibility or absorbency of the resulting laminate. Of course, theparticular adhesive employed should be insoluble in water, which is theprimary liquid that is absorbed by bathmats during use.

From the adhesive application station 40, the scrim-tissue laminate ispassed over a guide roll 44 and laminated to the wadding side of thefilm-wadding laminate, thereby adhesively bonding the cellulosic tissueon one side of the scrim-tissue laminate 12 to the multiply wadding 10in the film-wadding laminate withdrawn from the nip of the rolls 36 and37. The resulting adhesively bonded laminate is then wound on a roll 45for subsequent slitting or cutting into bathmats of the desired size andshape.

In a working example of the invention, a number of bathmats wereprepared by the process illustrated in FIG. 3, and using the exemplarymaterials identified above. These bathmats were subjected to a number ofdifferent tests, with the following results:

Absorbent capacity 7.9 8 Bulk l0lifts at 3.5"/sq.ft. Loading 0.461" FirerateAATCC-33 1 sec. Did no 8.0 No. times dry wt.

Passes 1 second flame impingement 12.7 seconds 14.7 seconds FirerateNFPA-702 MD 12. Fire rateNFPA-702 CD 14.

In the absorbency rate test, 0.1 cc. of water was deposited on the uppersurface of the bathmat, and the time required for the water to beabsorbed completely into the mat was measured. In the absorbent capacitytest, a 4-inch X4-inch sample of the bathmat material was weighed in itsdry condition and then submerged in water for 3 minutes, removed andhung by one corner for 1 minute, and weighed again; as shown in theabove table, the wet weight was found to be about eight times the dryweight.

As can be seen from the foregoing detailed description and examples, thepresent invention provides an improved disposable bathmat havingsuperior strength, abrasion resistance, bulk, and absorbency. Moreparticularly, although the bathmat is disposable, it has a desirablefeel combined with a relatively high absorbency rate and capacity.Furthermore, the bathmat is nonabsorbent on the underside thereof.Moreover, the bathmat can be efficiently manufactured at high productionrates and at a relatively low cost.

I claim as my invention:

1. A disposable laminated bathmat comprising the combination of acentral layer of absorbent material formed of a multiplicity of plies ofcellulosic wadding, a layer of nonwoven fabric comprised of a pluralityof spaced apart, substantially parallel warp threads and a plurality ofspaced apart fill threads extending across the warp threads in atransverse direction, said warp threads being bonded to said fillthreads, said layer of nonwoven fabric being bonded to one side of saidcentral layer and being adapted to strengthen said bathmat, a layer ofwater impervious plastic film bonded to the other side of said centrallayer and a layer of absorbent cellulosic tissue bonded to the otherside of said nonwoven fabric.

2. A disposable laminated bathmat as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidnonwoven fabric is adhesively bonded to at least one ply of cellulosictissue on the inner surface thereof, and said cellulosic tissue isadhesively bonded to adjacent plies of cellulosic wadding in saidcentral layer.

3. A disposable laminated bathmat as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidmultiple piles of cellulosic wadding in said central layer and saidplastic film are interbonded by embossing.

4. A disposable laminated bathmat as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidcentral layer of cellulosic wadding has a Crepe ratio of at least about2: l.

5. A disposable laminated bathmat as set forth in claim 4 wherein saidcellulosic wadding in said central layer has a drier basis weight offrom about 4.0 to about 5.8 lbs. per 2880 sq. ft., a stretch per ply offrom about 70 percent to about 120 percent, a bulk offrom about 25 toabout 40 mils/l 0 plies, and a machine direction strength of from about400 to about 800 grams.

6. A disposable laminated bathmat as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidplastic film is cold embossable polyethylene.

7. A disposable laminated bathmat as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidnonwoven fabric has a thread count of between about 2 and about 3threads per inch in both directions.

8. A disposable laminated bathmat as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidnonwoven fabric is made of nylon threads.

9. A disposable laminated bathmat comprising the combination of acentral layer of absorbent material formed of a multiplicity of plies ofcellulosic wadding, a laminate of scrim and cellulosic tissue adhesivelybonded to one side of said central layer of absorbent material, saidscrim having a plurality of warp and fill threads crossing one another,and a layer of plastic film laminated to the other side of said centrallayer of absorbent material.

10. A disposable laminated bathmat as set forth in claim 9 wherein saidmultiple plies of cellulosic wadding in said central layer and saidplastic film are interbonded by embossing.

11. A disposable laminated bathmat as set forth in claim 9 wherein saidcellulosic tissue in said laminate of scrim and cellulosic tissue has adrier basis weight of from 7.4 to about 8.0 lbs. per 2880 sq. ft., afinished basis weight of from about 9 to about 1 1 lbs. per 2880 sq.ft., a stretch per ply of from about 18 percent to about 25 percent, adry cross direction strength of at least about 300 grams, and a wetcross direction strength of at least about grams.

material, said scrim-tissue laminate including a plurality of parallelspaced apart warp threads and a plurality of spaced apart fill threadscrossing said warp threads.

13. A method of forming a disposable laminated bathmat as set forth inclaim 12 wherein said scrim-tissue laminate is adhesively bonded to saidlayer of absorbent material.

2. A disposable laminated bathmat as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidnonwoven fabric is adhesively bonded to at least one ply of cellulosictissue on the inner surface thereof, and said cellulosic tissue isadhesively bonded to adjacent plies of cellulosic wadding in saidcentral layer.
 3. A disposable laminated bathmat as set forth in claim 1wherein said multiple plies of cellulosic wadding in said central layerand said plastic film are interbonded by embossing.
 4. A disposablelaminated bathmat as set forth in claim 1 wherein said central layer ofcellulosic wadding has a crepe ratio of at least about 2:1.
 5. Adisposable laminated bathmat as set forth in claim 4 wherein saidcellulosic wadding in said central layer has a drier basis weight offrom about 4.0 to about 5.8 lbs. per 2880 sq. ft., a stretch per ply offrom about 70 percent to about 120 percent, a bulk of from about 25 toabout 40 mils/10 plies, and a machine direction strength of from about400 to about 800 grams.
 6. A disposable laminated bathmat as set forthin claim 1 wherein said plastic film is cold embossable polyethylene. 7.A disposable laminated bathmat as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidnonwoven fabric has a thread count of between about 2 and about 3threads per inch in both directions.
 8. A disposable laminated bathmatas set forth in claim 1 wherein said nonwoven fabric is made of nylonthreads.
 9. A disposable laminated bathmat comprising the combination ofa central layer of absorbent material formed of a multiplicity of pliesof cellulosic wadding, a laminate of scrim and cellulosic tissueadhesively bonded to one side of said central layer of absorbentmaterial, said scrim having a plurality of warp and fill threadscrossing one another, and a layer of plastic film laminated to the otherside of said central layer of absorbent material.
 10. A disposablelaminated bathmat as set forth in claim 9 wherein said multiple plies ofcellulosic wadding in said central layer and said plastic film areinterbonded by embossing.
 11. A disposable laminated bathmat as setforth in claim 9 wherein said cellulosic tissue in said laminate ofscrim and cellulosic tissue has a drier basis weight of from 7.4 toabout 8.0 lbs. per 2880 sq. ft., a finished basis weight of from about 9to about 11 lbs. per 2880 sq. ft., a stretch per ply of from about 18percent to about 25 percent, a dry cross direction strength of at leastabout 300 grams, and a wet cross direction strength of at least about110 grams.
 12. A method of forming a disposable laminated bathmatcomprising the steps of laminating a water impervious plastic film toone side of a layer of absorbent material formed of a multiplicity ofplies of cellulosic wadding, embossing the resulting laminate so as tointerbond the multiple plies of cellulosic wadding and said plasticfilm, and laminating a scrim tissue laminate to the other side of saidlayer of absorbent material, said scrim-tissue laminate including aplurality of parallel spaced apart warp threads and a plurality ofspaced apart fill threads crossing said warp threads.
 13. A method offorming a disposable laminated bathmat as set forth in claim 12 whereinsaid scrim-tissue laminate is adhesively bonded to said layer ofabsorbent material.